Company calls Weinzapfel's request for investigation premature

Officials with the Indiana Gaming Commission plan to ask Columbia Sussex next week about the potential for further job cuts at Casino Aztar.

Meanwhile, a Columbia executive said Tuesday she thought Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel's call for a commission investigation into a possible 70 layoffs at the riverboat was "very premature."

"We were disappointed the mayor did not feel he could approach us with his concerns," said Donna More, vice president and general counsel for Columbia Entertainment, a subsidiary of Fort Mitchell, Ky.-based Columbia Sussex.

On Monday, the mayor's office released a copy of a letter Weinzapfel sent to the gaming commission after learning of the layoffs in a meeting with More last week. In the letter, Weinzapfel said the 70 additional cuts raised questions about Columbia's previous commitment to lay off only 20 people after the acquisition of Aztar Corp.

More said the mayor's letter caught the casino's employees off-guard. She said the company had met with Weinzapfel last week to talk "on a confidential basis about some things that were contemplated," but no action or staff reductions have been taken.

"Nothing was finalized; nothing was done," More said. "We talked to him to open a dialogue, and frankly I'm disappointed. We want to have a good relationship with the mayor."

"Representations were made about the number of jobs that would be cut, and 70 was never a part of that," Champion said Tuesday.

Asked to respond to a More's contention the city had overreacted in requesting an investigation, Champion said, "I don't think you can overreact when you are talking about 70 people's lives."

Aztar employs between 1,100 and 1,200 people.

More said Columbia will not make any staffing reductions until running it by the commission first.

The commission already has asked Columbia for more information, and staff members plan to meet with the company next week. The meeting will be closed to the public. Jennifer Arnold, the commission's deputy director, said the commission previously had questioned Columbia about the potential for job cuts at Casino Aztar before the company took over.

The commission approved a gaming license for Columbia in November over the objections of commissioner Don Vowels of Evansville.

"One thing that was a concern to the commission was the company's reputation for cutting jobs," Arnold said. "We felt at the time their answer was satisfactory."

The question the commission will seek to answer, Arnold said, is whether the possible 70 layoffs are a result of a new owner or a result of business conditions.

"Those assurances were important," Arnold said of Columbia's plans to lay off only 20 as a result of the merger. "We need to determine to what extent they have complied with the commitment."

According to a transcript of a Nov. 9 commission hearing, Jim Brown, Casino Aztar president and general manager, suggested competition from the new French Lick casino could result in further staffing changes.

"I'm much more concerned about the business impact of French Lick than I am on a merger with Columbia Entertainment, because we have always staffed efficiently," Brown said, according to the transcript.

Brown said if business declined because of competition from French Lick, he would be concerned if Aztar wouldn't "have the authority to reduce (our) work force accordingly."

Brown, who was unavailable for comment Tuesday, has been vocal in the past about the impact French Lick would have on Casino Aztar's business. In a 2003 letter to the Legislature, Brown predicted Aztar would lose 10 percent of its business to French Lick, resulting in an eventual staff reduction of 150 to 200 people.

More said Columbia calculates a 7 percent drop in revenue at Casino Aztar since January because of French Lick.

"It looks somewhat prophetic," Brown said of his prediction during an interview earlier this month. "With or without a merger, there would have to be an adjustment in our work force."

A former Casino Aztar card dealer, Tony Chernetsky, said Tuesday he was tired of the uncertainty surrounding employees' job status when he quit a few weeks ago.

Chernetsky said managers told employees their jobs would be safe for one year after Columbia took over operations in January, but workers have had to deal with reductions in hours and benefits.